The drafted Detailed Area Plan (DAP) for the 2016-2035 period has included a proposal that none can construct residential buildings above eight storeys in the capital.

But, no building can be built above six storeys in Narayanganj and Gazipur cities and Savar municipality.
On September 2, the Ministry of Housing and Public Works published the draft formally.

The drafted DAP or Master Plan is likely to be passed this year for 20 years after concluding the ongoing public hearings on it till November 4.

Some officials of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), which is the authority to implement the DAP, have already opposed the proposal while the realtors did so.

They think if it is passed, prices of flats will hike by 30 per cent to 40 per cent, with a slide in the real estate business.

But, some RAJUK officials say that the proposal has been added to the drafted DAP for the sake of the aforementioned areas.

If it is passed, pressure, particularly on the capital, will get reduced and the standard of citizen services will get boosted.
According to the proposal in the drafted DAP, the highest tallness of building will be six storeys at Khilkhet, Kuril and Nikunja, seven to eight storeys at Uttara, six-eight at Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara, four-seven at Mirpur, and five to eight at Mohammadpur-Lalmatia under Dhaka North City Corporation while four-six-storey building can be built in old parts of Dhaka under Dhaka South City Corporation.

One can be able to construct building from four to six storeys in Gazipur city except its one to two areas.

But, the buildings being constructed or permission already taken to construct will not come under the new DAP proposal.

According to the drafted DAP, a total of 1,528 square kilometres of the RAJUK was divided into 468 blocks.

The height of residential buildings has been assessed based on the capacity of population, road infrastructures, civic benefits and development of the blocks.

The blocks — which have good civic services, drainage networks, open places and other advantages — have been fixed for construction of the highest tallness building while the bocks— where there are opposite pictures — have been assessed for building the lowest storey building.

With the building construction proposal, it has kept proposals of legalising unapproved building by paying fine, re-development of land, plan for protecting waterways, plan for transport development and other matters, which were absent from the existing DAP passed in 2010.

The RAJUK will hold a seminar any day after concluding public hearings on November 4. After passing the new DAP, the existing DAP will be ineffective, said sources in the RAJUK.

Now, buildings in the capital are constructed as per the existing DAP and the Dhaka Building Construction Rules-2008.

According to the rules, the height of any building is approved as per the land size.

In the 1990s, it could be made the highest six-storey residential buildings at Dhanmondi, but after 2008 it can be the highest 14 storeys there.